Alcohol Consumption and Abuse

Native American women of child-bearing age, as a group, are at risk because of the disproportionate consumption of alcohol among these women. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been found to be an important factor in the development of may problems in later life for infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome. This research focuses on risk reduction for fetal alcohol syndrome among Native Americans.

Enhanced Risk of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Among Native Americans

The infant mortality rate for Native-Americans is elevated in comparison to that for European-Americans. One of the contributing factors is alcohol abuse among pregnant Native-American women. Young Native-Americans are characterized by higher levels of alcohol consumption than any other racial or ethnic population group in the United States (Markey & Stone, 1997).

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) affects a much higher proportion of Native-American babies (six-times more than the general population) because of higher rates of maternal alcoholism (Kelley, 1992). Because almost 20 percent of some Native-American newborns are afflicted with FAS, massive alcohol education and prevention efforts have been mounted in Native-American communities. Some tribal programs have had more success than governmental programs in reducing prenatal drinking among Native-American pregnant women, but acceptance of drinking in Native-American communities has li

. . .
population that represents more than 200 tribes from both the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. The urban Native-American population served by the SIHB and the SIAP is one of the most diverse in the country with regard to tribal affiliation (Kelley, 1992). In programs and policies dealing with physical health and alcoholism, it is paramount that attention be paid to the underlying values of Native-American clients if rehabilitation goals are to be met (Hess & Kenner, 1998). The traditional Alcoholics Anonymous approach has proved to be incompatible with several strongly held Native-American traditional values (Kelley, 1992). Among these traditional values are not admitting personal weakness, not making public confessions, and not drawing attention to oneself. Further, marginally literate Native-Americans, whose culture relies on songs, stories, and legends for guidance, have been unwilling and often unable to make use of the mass of printed materials offered by Alcoholics Anonymous. Social Orientation Through its multi-modal and social orientation, SIAP has met with better success than similarly structured dominant culture programs, in part because its emphasis is on Native-American culture and values. Elements such as e
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ludwikowski DeValk, Australian Aborigines, Native American, Sugarman Grossman, SIAP Native-American, SIAP SIAP, Syndrome FAS, Aborigines Australia, Alcoholics Anonymous, Kellerman Welty, kelley 1992, fetal alcohol, alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, native american, alcohol abuse, indian health, pregnant women, wellington 1993, native american women, native-american populations, birth defects, women child-bearing age, american women child-bearing, health research world,
Approximate Word count = 2228
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Alcohol Consumption and Abuse